Attack on Catholic Bishops is attack on entire Church, PFN fumes

•Vows to break bus preaching law By Olayinka Latona The National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Bishop Wale Oke, has thrown the full weight of the Pentecostal body behind the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, declaring that any attack on the Catholic bishops is an attack on the entire Body of Christ. Speaking during an interview monitored by Sunday Vanguard, Bishop Oke endorsed the remarks made by John Onaiyekan during the recent visit of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, to President Bola Tinubu, where the group told the President that “Nigeria is bleeding.” “Are we not bleeding? Are we not bleeding in Benue? Are we not bleeding in Southern Kaduna? Are we not bleeding in Gwoza, in Borno State? Are we not bleeding in Kwara? Are we not bleeding in Oyo State?” Oke queried, reiterating the Cardinal’s words verbatim. The PFN President challenged the government’s pushback against the bishops, insisting that speaking the truth to power is not a political act but a moral imperative. “Should anybody attack a Catholic bishop for saying that? That is the obvious truth,” he stated firmly. Bishop Oke dismissed attempts to isolate the Catholic bishops, emphasising Christian unity across denominations. “The Church of Jesus Christ is one. There may be many denominations, but we have one faith, one Lord, one baptism. The Church is one. If they attack the Catholic bishops, they are attacking the whole Church,” he declared. Plateau, Benue The PFN leader used the platform to condemn what he described as the government’s silence in the face of escalating violence against Christians, citing ongoing killings in Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Benue, Taraba, and recent incursions into Oyo, Kwara and Edo states by violent groups he linked to Islamic extremism. On the controversy surrounding the proposed amendment to the FRSC Act that would fine bus preachers ¦ 50,000, Bishop Oke was unequivocal. Despite the Senate’s clarification that the provision had existed since 2007 and was merely re-itemised, Oke insisted it must be expunged entirely. “We will break that law. Dear Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we will rather obey God than man,” he declared, adding that he has preached in buses since 1975 without causing any accident or distraction. “If you want to imprison us for preaching the gospel, we are ready. If you want to make all the stadiums in Nigeria prisons, we are ready. We would rather obey God than man,” he said defiantly. OIC withdrawal  Beyond the bus preaching ban, Oke called on the National Assembly to address more fundamental issues, including Nigeria’s membership of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which he said the country entered under military rule without the people’s consent. “The Senate should deal with that and pull Nigeria out of the OIC,” he demanded. He also renewed calls for a review of the 1999 Constitution, alleging it is skewed in favour of Islam. “In that Constitution, Islam is mentioned hundreds of times. Christianity is mentioned once. And Christians in Nigeria are a little over 50 per cent of the population,” he argued, insisting that the document was imposed by the “military jackboot” and does not represent the will of Nigerians. Genocide Bishop Oke doubled down on allegations of Christian genocide, accusing the government of spending billions to lobby against such claims in the United States while the killings continue. He distinguished between the primary targeting of Christians and the secondary killing of liberal Muslims who oppose extremist ideologies. “The Senate should invite the Church for a talk. Nigerians are being killed. You are sitting there making evil laws. We will break that law,” he concluded, reaffirming that the PFN is making private overtures to the Presidency even as it speaks publicly, though he declined to disclose details of those engagements. Timing Also, Pastor Seyi Osuntayo, Area Superintendent of The Apostolic Church Nigeria, Igbein Area, weighed in on the controversy, expressing concern about what he termed the “altercation” between the Presidency and the Catholic bishops. “The timing of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria’s advice could be suspicious and be seen as partisan,” Pastor Osuntayo told our correspondent. “I feel the Catholic Bishops should have been talking about governance ab initio, not at the time of the electioneering campaign,” he noted. The cleric, who maintains that Christian leaders should not be involved in “political roforofo” but should focus on governance, cited the biblical instruction in 1 Timothy 2:1–4, urging Christians to pray for leaders regardless of their performance. “Our leaders need prayer, whether we agree with their views and leadership style or not. We may no

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